updated 02:25 pm EDT, Fri May 30, 2008

Eee PC 900 901 to Co-Exist

Claims that the Eee PC 901 will kill its older counterpart are false, ASUS' Italian manager Luca Rossi tellsNotebook Italia. The older, Celeron-based 900 model is still expected by the company to stay on the market as it fulfills a slightly different role than its Atom-using sequel; the 900 weighs less at under 2.2 pounds, while the 901 lasts longer for up to seven hours on battery, Rossi says.

Separate reports have suggested that the 901 will also have extra features not mentioned in the commentary, including Bluetooth; the price is expected to be slightly higher than for the 900 model at up to $650 but hasn't been confirmed.

While the executive doesn't say whether the continued production will extend to every region ASUS serves, he notes that Italians will at least see production until September, when both Eee PC models will sit side-by-side. ASUS already offers several different Eee PC models that are primarily separated only by storage and the choice of either Linux or Windows.